Carpe Diem #595, Bush Clover (one of the seven sacred autumn flowers)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It's my pleasure to present to you our first prompt of our new month of Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, November. The first seven (regular) prompts will be the seven sacred autumn flowers and today the first of those sacred autumn flowers is Bush Clover (Hagi).

“The loneliness Of autumn on the beach More even than that of Suma In the surf Mingled with small shells Petals of the bush clover” (Matsuo Basho; The Small Road Into the Deep North)

The delicate, flowering bush clover has been a favorite motif with Japanese poets since time immemorial. Small pink flowers are borne at the end of arching stems and mix attractively with dainty leaves. It is a vigorous, deciduous shrub of the pea family, and several wild species can be found growing on damp hills and moors. There is a white-flowered variety, but the parti-colored pink types are more common. In the 10th century, no aristocratic villa would have been complete without the modest bush clover, blooming in a dew-drenched garden. Today, there is still a corner in our hearts and small gardens for this charming autumn bush. 

Credits: (Japanese) Bush Clover (Hagi)

And I have sought for haiku written by our classical masters about the Bush Clover. I have found quiet a lot of haiku about Bush Clover.

mire te yuku ya   hito mo okashi   ame no hagi

to get wet
by passing a man is interesting
bush clover in rain

© Basho

shiratsuyu wo kobusanu hagi no uneri kana

not spilling the glistening dew,
the bush clover,
undulating

 © Basho

yuujo no onajiyane no moto de amarini moga nemutte iru hagi to tsuki

under the same roof
courtesans, too, are asleep --
bush clover and the moon

© Basho 

Credits: Bush Clover (Hagi) Woodblock Print

hagi no me ya hito ga shiraneba shika ga kuu

bush clover sprouting--
when people aren't looking
the deer eats

© Issa

yase hagi ya bukuri-bukuri to chiri ni keri

barren bush clover--
softly, softly its blooms
have scattered

© Issa

ashimotono akino oboroya hagino hana

the autumn haze 
at my feet--
bush-clover flowers

© Buson

kogitsuneno nanni musekemu kohagihara

the little fox,
what made him cough--
in a field with bush clover?

© Buson 

Credits: Hagi (Bush Clover) woodblock print 1840

All wonderful haiku ... can it be possible to write all new haiku after all these beauties? Let me give it a try ...

bush clover spreads
my garden becomes a purple sea -
autumn dew shimmers

© Chèvrefeuille

Hm ... not a strong one, but I like it ... This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until November 3rd at noon (CET). I will publish our new episode, Miscanthus, later on.